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Informist, Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – India's ethanol production is projected to rise 46% on year to 10.5 billion litres in 2025, driven by improved feedstock availability and favourable monsoon conditions, the Foreign Agricultural Service of the United States Department of Agriculture said in a report.

 

"Despite the remarkable growth, Post forecasts the annual nationwide average blend rate for CY (calendar year) 2025 at 19.3 percent, slightly below the E20 target due to regional shortages in feedstocks and logistics constraints," USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, New Delhi, said in the report. India achieved a cumulative blending of 18.8% during Nov-May, and 19.8% blending in May, according to the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. 

 

The USDA foreign arm expects higher use of corn, surplus rice from the Food Corporation of India, and sugarcane juice for ethanol production in 2025. Usage of B- and C-heavy molasses, however, will shift more towards industrial ethanol production.

 

India is projected to use 10.49 million tonnes of corn kernels for fuel ethanol in 2025, up from 7.96 million tonnes last year. The volume of FCI rice used for fuel ethanol is forecast to rise sharply to 5.2 million tonnes from just 25,000 tonnes in 2024, while usage of damaged food grains is seen largely steady at around 4 million tonnes.

 

In the sugar basket, the volume of sugarcane juice diverted for fuel ethanol production is expected to jump to 17.1 million tonnes from 3.54 million tonnes a year ago. Last year, the government restricted the diversion of cane juice and B-heavy molasses for ethanol production to ensure comfortable sugar availability in the country. 

 

In contrast, use of C-heavy molasses for fuel ethanol is projected to plunge to 507,000 tonnes from 2.7 million tonnes, while B-heavy molasses use is seen to be slightly lower at 4.33 million tonnes compared with 5.06 million tonnes last year. 

 

Meanwhile, total ethanol consumption in India is expected to rise to 11.4 billion litres in 2025, with around 9.7 billion litres projected to be used for blending with petrol, the report said.

 

India's ethanol production capacity stood at 16 billion litres as of March 2025, but reaching and sustaining the 20% blending mandate will require a capacity of at least 17 billion litres, assuming 80% plant efficiency, the report said. "This would demand an additional 7 million hectares of cultivated feedstock area, which remains a key policy challenge. The ban on ethanol imports for fuel blending further constrains the availability of alternatives, reinforcing the urgency for accelerated capacity expansion," USDA New Delhi arm said.

 

While India permits ethanol imports for non-fuel uses, it has banned the import of ethanol for biofuel production since 2019. Meanwhile, industrial ethanol imports--mainly from the US--are seen rising by 30% to 1 billion litres in 2025, to meet the growing demand from the beverage, medicinal, and industrial sectors, the report said. End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

 

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